[1] The first recorded family member, John Lyon, Lord of Glamis, was a courtier and diplomat, who was appointed Keeper of the Privy Seal in 1371 on the accession of Robert II.

He acquired significant lands, and on 18 March 1372, Robert II granted him "the free barony of Glamuyss in the sheriffdom of Forfar."

He was also granted the subsidiary titles of Viscount Lyon and Lord of Glamis, Tannadyce, Sidlaw and Strathdichtie.

He married but left no children, and the peerages were inherited by his brother, the 13th Earl, who sat in the Lords as a representative peer from 1870 until 1892.

The traditional burial place of the Earls of Strathmore and Kinghorne is in an aisle of Glamis parish church.